THE KOALA WHISPERER
MOVE OVER BINDI IRWIN: KOALA-GIRL IZZY BEE IS THE LATEST ANIMAL LOVER SET TO BECOME A TV STAR!
Izzy lives with her parents Ali and Tim Bee on Queensland’s Magnetic Island, and wakes up every day surrounded by koalas. Their house is full of the furry little critters, and the family has recently been filmed for a program on Animal Planet’s Dodo Heroes series.
On it, we’ll see young Izzy, 10, hand-feeding rescued koalas that veterinary-surgeon mum Ali, 52, is a devoted to saving.
‘The rescued babies need attention every two hours, so we have to keep them in our home,’ Ali, explains. ‘I’ll wake to hear their cries, wanting milk just like Izzy did when she was a baby!’
‘It was the anniversary of Steve Irwin’s death when we got Crikey,’ Izzy explains, cuddling her favourite koala. ‘Steve always said “Crikey” so that’s what we called him!’
Ali credits Izzy for saving Crikey’s life after rescuing him when he was tiny. ‘Sometimes they’ll just give up,’ she says. ‘In Crikey’s case, Izzy was the only one who could get him to eat and sleep. Now he’s thriving.
‘She just seems to have some form of communication with these guys that goes beyond words,’ Ali says.
Izzy’s family’s ultimate aim is to get struggling koalas strong and healthy enough to be released back into the wild.
‘I try not to cuddle them every day or treat them like pets, so they don’t get too used to people,’ Izzy explains.
But the older the baby koalas get the naughtier they become... ‘They pull out the TV cords and crawl on everything,’ Ali says rolling her eyes.
Sadly, Australia only has 40,000 to 50,000 koalas left in the wild – many have perished after their habitat has been wiped out by developers and graziers.
It is this sobering number that encourages Ali to devote all her spare time to saving koalas.
‘When I first got a job as a vet, I knew nothing about koalas,’ Ali admits. ‘But I’ve learnt as you go. What’s astonishing is just how different their personalities are! Some are shy and reserved, and others are very naughty!’